The most notable matches of the 2019 Asian Cup group stage
(Baonghean.vn) - The Asian Cup officially started the matches in Group A and Group B yesterday with surprising results in the opening matches of Thailand and Australia. However, the group stage of the Asian Cup may have many more surprises because this is only the first round of matches of the two groups.
In group A, after losing the first match, the Thai team will have to try very hard against the remaining two teams, so the match between the Thai team and Bahrain will be the key match, the last chance to save the "War Elephants" chance to continue.
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| Not only Thailand but also Australian players were surprisingly defeated by opponents who were considered weaker. Photo: Internet |
In Group B, defending champion Australia, after losing to Jordan, will also face many difficulties against Syria and Palestine to have favorable conditions to go straight to the next round. If they cannot get the maximum 3 points against Palestine, then against Syria in the final round, Australia will have to try their best against the annoying opponent from West Asia.
In Group C, the two most highly rated teams, China and South Korea, will face off in the final round of the group stage. This will most likely be the match that decides the first and second place in a group that also includes the Philippines and Kyrgyzstan. After much investment and preparation for this tournament, the Chinese team really wants to do something special against South Korea to show their strength.
Group D with the presence of Vietnam National Team, may witness fierce competition for the second place in the group between us and Iraq National Team. The two teams will meet in the first round of Group D.
The team that wins this match will have a great chance to advance to the next round. If they cannot win, Vietnam can only try to get points against Iran and have a big win against Yemen to hope to enter the 4 teams in the 3rd place with the best results.
Thus, it can be seen that the opening match against the Iraqi players will greatly determine the goals of coach Park Hang-seo and his team in this tournament.
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| Vietnam defeated Iraq in the quarter-finals of the 2018 AFC U23 Championship. Photo: vietnamnet.vn |
In Group E, the difference in class between the teams of North Korea, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Qatar is not too much, so all the confrontations in this group will promise to be very fierce. Perhaps the match between North Korea and Qatar will be the most notable match in this group.
In the final group, Uzbekistan, with quality additions from the U23 Asian Championship victory, will have a notable confrontation with one of the top teams on the continent at the moment, Japan.
Besides, the matches between Oman and these two teams also promise to have many surprises.
For Vietnamese fans, the match against Iraq in the first round of Group D on January 8 is the most anticipated and hopeful match.
